Faulty Valve Blamed For Blast At Pp&l Plant

January 30, 1992|by MARTIN PFLIEGER, The Morning Call

A faulty valve and inadequate monitoring of combustible gases caused an explosion and injured two workers Jan. 18 at Pennsylvania Power & Light Co.'s nuclear power plant near Berwick, a company official said.

The explosion, which did not affect the operation of the Susquehanna nuclear plant's two reactors, occurred while the workers were doing maintenance on a hydrogen recombiner that was out of service. A recombiner helps convert steam into water after it has been used to generate electricity.

The faulty valved apparently allowed hydrogen to leak undetected out of the recombiner and it ignited, said PP&L spokesman Ira Kaplan.

Vernon T. Whitmire of Berwick was contaminated with radioactive materials and suffered first- and second-degree burns of the chest. He is back at work. A second maintenance worker, Larry V. Kalnoskas, was treated at Berwick Hospital for ringing in his ears and released. He, too, is back at work.

No equipment was damaged.

Kaplan said the company is continuing its investigation. The explosion was also investigated by an on-site inspector for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.